Colorado has the Thirteenth Lowest Tax Burden in the Nation for 2013

Mar 31, 2015

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, Colorado collected $22.4 billion in state and local taxes. While this is an impressive sum of money, it tells us little about whether or not the average Colorado taxpayer can afford this level of taxation.

As shown in Chart 1 below, Colorado’s state and local tax burden (tax collections divided by personal income) was the thirteenth lowest in the nation for FY 2013 at 9.2 percent—this is -11 percent below the national average of 10.3 percent. As shown in Chart 2, Colorado’s tax burden has been practically static over time with growth of only 1 percent to 9.2 percent in FY 2013 from 9.1 percent in FY 1950.

Colorado State and Local Tax Burden Rank 2013.jpg

Colorado’s lower than average state and local tax burden is driven by having generally average tax burdens across tax types, but their low corporate income tax burden (0.27 percent, 34^th highest) and low all other taxes burden (1.6 percent, 40^th lowest) really help.

#Colorado #taxburden has grown 1% between FY 1950 to 2013 to 9.2% from 9.1%. (click to tweet)

Of course, the tax burdens for local government can vary just as much as they do among the 50 states. As such, we have also calculated the local government tax burden for every county in Colorado—this includes every taxing jurisdiction within the geographic county borders whether it is a city, a special district, or county government itself.

The Colorado counties with the highest local government tax burden include: Lake County, CO (25.2 percent), Rio Blanco County, CO (21.1 percent), and San Miguel County, CO (15.2 percent). The Colorado counties with the lowest local government tax burden include: Elbert County, CO (2.4 percent), Douglas County, CO (2.8 percent), and Crowley County, CO (2.8 percent).

Click here to view tax burden data by state, county, type of tax, and for years 1950 to 2013.

Colorado State and Local Tax Burden Rank 1950 to 2013.jpg

J. Scott Moody

Scott has nearly 20 years of experience as a public policy economist. He is the author, co-author and editor of over 180 studies and books. His professional experience also includes positions at the American Conservative Union Foundation, Granite Institute, Federalism In Action, Maine Heritage Policy Center, Tax Foundation, and Heritage Foundation.